When discussing issues around the concept of intrinsic evils, I have noticed over the years that there is a common confusion over the meanings of the English word 'intention' that can easily lead to all kinds of strange conclusions contrary to Catholic teaching. An example: if someone performs some action, understanding both that the action will be [...]

 Jimmy Akin has written some postings (here, here, and here) in an attempt to narrow down what 'torture' might mean when it was condemned as an intrinsic evil by Vatican II and Pope John Paul II. I think his reflections are interesting, but often as much off-course as on-course. For example, he proposes two parameters to guide [...]

There has been a concerted discussion in various blogs (for example: here, here, here, and here) over Catholic teaching on the issue of torture. Having given this more than a little thought, I make various conclusions: whatever the definition of torture is, it is certainly an intrinsic evil, since both an Ecumenical Council, and a [...]

In the comment boxes of Catholic and Enjoying It! I put down an amazed remark wondering if the owner of the blog, Mark Shea, was somehow drifting towards the Sungenis end of an unfortunate spectrum. That was a remark quite definitely (and non-fallaciously)  aimed in an ad hominem way at Mark Shea's own thinking, as [...]

In response to the death penalty being passed on Saddam Hussein, Cardinal Martino has commented: "For me, punishing a crime with another crime, which is what killing for vindication is, would mean that we are still at the point of demanding an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" This has upset Jimmy [...]